Stories of conflict led journalists to operate in some of the world’s most dangerous places in 2006, including Iraq, Latin America and the Palestinian territories. Sadly, a record number paid the ultimate price as they toiled to shine a light on hostile and complicated events.
The International Federation of Journalists reported earlier this month that in 2006 there were 155 murders and unexplained deaths of journalists, interpreters and others who worked in the news gathering business.
“Media have become more powerful and journalism has become more dangerous,” Aidan White, IFJ general secretary, said in a statement. “2006 was the worst year on record – a year of targeting, brutality and continued impunity in the killing of journalists.”
The deaths in Iraq were particularly jarring as insurgents took advantage of the deteriorating situation to target some journalists.
Thirty-two journalists died in Iraq in 2006, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Among the most prominent was the assassination of Atwar Bahjat, a television reporter well-known in the Arab world.
“The deaths in Iraq this year reflect the utter deterioration in reporters’ traditional status as neutral observers in wartime,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “When this conflict began more than three and a half years ago, most journalists died in combat-related incidents. Now, insurgents routinely target journalists for perceived affiliations – political, sectarian or Western.”
This alarming trend has limited the reporting of the vital story of events in Iraq. The journalist killings in that country last year raises the death toll to 92 since the U.S. invasion in March 2003.
Also notable last year was the murder of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Two local journalists in Colombia who had a reputation for hard-edged reporting on paramilitary activities also were killed.
Thousands of colleagues around the globe face growing danger in their efforts to record the events of the day. We salute their skill and courage – and their determination to provide an eyewitness account of world events.
